batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l6465-l6519
---
record_id: batch.motif.comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg-l6465-l6519
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
passage_locator:
label: MACAULAY. / CHAPTER II. THE PERILS OF THE SOUL. / HEINE. / CHAPTER III. KILLING
THE GOD.; lines 6465-6519
start: '6465'
end: '6519'
translation: 'The Golden Bough: A Study in Comparative Religion (Vol. 1 of 2)'
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: Like Adonis, he appears to have been a god of vegetation, and his death and
resurrection were annually mourned and rejoiced over at a festival in spring.
summary: Frazer compares Sicilian Easter sprouting-grain customs with gardens of
Adonis, then introduces Attis as a Phrygian vegetation god whose death and resurrection
were ritually marked in spring. The passage summarizes Attis legends involving
Cybele, death by boar or self-mutilation under a pine-tree, transformation into
a pine-tree, and spring festival rites involving a cut pine, blood offering, mourning,
burial of an effigy, joy for resurrection, and a ritual bath of Cybele’s image
and sacred objects.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: At Easter, Sicilian women sow wheat, lentils, and canary-seed in plates kept
in darkness and watered every two days.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The resulting stalks are tied with red ribbons and placed on church sepulchres
containing effigies of the dead Christ on Good Friday.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The passage states that gardens of Adonis were placed on the grave of the
dead Adonis.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Attis is described as a Phrygian counterpart to Adonis and as a vegetation
god whose death and resurrection were annually mourned and rejoiced over at a
spring festival.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Attis is said to have been a fair youth beloved by Cybele.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: 'Two accounts of Attis’s death are given: death by a boar, and self-mutilation
under a pine-tree followed by death from blood loss.'
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: After death, Attis is said to have been changed into a pine-tree.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: At the spring equinox a pine-tree was cut in the woods, brought into Cybele’s
sanctuary, treated as a divinity, decorated with woollen bands and violets, and
fitted with an effigy of a young man.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: The third festival day was called the Day of Blood, when the high priest drew
blood from his arms and presented it as an offering.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: Mourning for Attis may have taken place over an effigy that was afterwards
solemnly buried.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: The fourth festival day was the Festival of Joy, when Attis’s resurrection
was probably celebrated.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: The Roman festival ended with a procession to the brook Almo, where Cybele’s
cart, image, and other sacred objects were bathed; afterward the cart and oxen
were strewn with spring flowers.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Adonis
description: A dead god whose gardens were placed on his grave; compared with Attis.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Sicilian women
description: Women who sow and tend seeds in plates at Easter and place the sprouting
plants on church sepulchres.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: dead Christ effigy
description: Effigy of the dead Christ placed in church sepulchres on Good Friday.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Attis
description: A fair youth, beloved by Cybele, described as a Phrygian vegetation
god associated with death, resurrection, and transformation into a pine-tree.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Cybele
description: The great Phrygian goddess who loved Attis; her sanctuary receives
the ritual pine-tree and her cart and image are bathed at the brook Almo.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: people of Pessinus
description: People associated with a local story of Attis’s self-mutilation and
with abstention from eating swine.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: high priest
description: Priest who draws blood from his arms and presents it as an offering
on the Day of Blood.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: young man effigy
description: Effigy attached to the middle of the cut pine-tree and possibly mourned
and buried in the festival sequence.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: dying and returning vegetation god
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:4
basis: The passage describes Adonis as dead and associated with planted gardens,
and Attis as a vegetation god whose death and resurrection were ritually marked
in spring.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: ritual preparers
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: They sow, water, bind, and place sprouting seeds for the Easter custom.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: dead sacred figure represented by effigy
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The passage mentions effigies of the dead Christ made up in church sepulchres
on Good Friday.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: beloved youth
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Attis is said to have been a fair youth beloved by Cybele.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: great goddess and cult recipient
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Cybele is called the great Phrygian goddess, has a sanctuary, and her image
and sacred objects are ritually bathed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: role:6
label: local cult community
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The people of Pessinus are linked to a local Attis story and to swine abstention.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: blood-offering officiant
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The high priest draws his own blood and presents it as an offering.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:8
label: ritual effigy
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: A young man’s effigy is attached to the ritual pine and may be mourned and
buried.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: sprouting grain plates
literal_form: Plates of wheat, lentils, and canary-seed grown in darkness, watered,
tied with red ribbons, and placed on sepulchres.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: grave or sepulchre
literal_form: Church sepulchres with dead Christ effigies and the grave of dead
Adonis.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: pine-tree
literal_form: Tree under which Attis dies, into which he is changed, and which is
cut, brought to Cybele’s sanctuary, adorned, and treated as a divinity.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: boar
literal_form: Animal said in one account to have killed Attis, as in the Adonis
comparison.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: blood offering
literal_form: Blood drawn from the high priest’s arms on the Day of Blood and presented
as an offering.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: violets and anemones from blood
literal_form: Violets said to have sprung from Attis’s blood, compared with anemones
from Adonis’s blood.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:7
label: ritual bath water
literal_form: The brook Almo where the cart, image, and sacred objects of the goddess
are bathed.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:8
label: spring flowers
literal_form: Fresh spring flowers strewn on the returning cart and oxen after the
ritual bath.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Sicilian Easter sprouting plates on sepulchres
summary: Women grow seeds in plates, bind the stalks with red ribbons, and place
the plates on Good Friday sepulchres with effigies of the dead Christ.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Comparison with gardens of Adonis
summary: Frazer states that the Sicilian custom resembles placing gardens of Adonis
on Adonis’s grave and is probably a continuation of Adonis worship under another
name.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Attis legends of death and transformation
summary: Attis is presented as a fair youth loved by Cybele, with death accounts
involving a boar or self-mutilation beneath a pine-tree, followed by transformation
into a pine-tree.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Spring equinox pine rite
summary: A pine-tree is cut, brought to Cybele’s sanctuary, treated as divine, decorated
with bands and violets, and supplied with a young man’s effigy.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Day of Blood and mourning
summary: On the Day of Blood, the high priest offers blood from his arms, and mourning
for Attis may occur over an effigy that is later buried.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Joy, resurrection, and ritual bathing
summary: The festival moves to the Festival of Joy, probably celebrating Attis’s
resurrection, and later concludes with a procession to bathe Cybele’s cart, image,
and sacred objects in the brook Almo.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: sprouting vegetation placed with the dead
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
- seasonal_cycle
basis: Seeds are rapidly sprouted and placed on sepulchres or graves associated
with dead sacred figures.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents this through Frazer’s comparative interpretation;
the literal Sicilian custom and Adonis custom are distinct contexts.
- id: motif:2
label: dying and resurrecting vegetation deity
taxonomy_refs:
- dying_and_returning
- resurrection
- seasonal_cycle
basis: Attis is explicitly described as a vegetation god whose death and resurrection
are ritually mourned and rejoiced over at a spring festival.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage says the resurrection was probably celebrated, indicating
some uncertainty about the ritual details.
- id: motif:3
label: tree embodiment of the dead god
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_tree_axis
- death_rebirth
basis: Attis dies under a pine-tree, is changed into a pine-tree, and a cut pine
is treated as a divinity with a young man’s effigy attached.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The available passage does not fully explain the ritual theology of the
tree.
- id: motif:4
label: blood offering in mourning rite
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: On the Day of Blood, the high priest draws blood from his arms and presents
it as an offering in the festival sequence connected with Attis’s death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explicitly identify the blood act as a sacrifice
to a named recipient beyond calling it an offering.
- id: motif:5
label: ritual bathing of goddess image and sacred objects
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: The festival closes with procession to water, bathing of Cybele’s cart, image,
and sacred objects, and return adorned with spring flowers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage describes the rite but does not assign a specific mythic meaning
to the bath.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: Frazer presents the Sicilian Easter sprouting-grain custom as probably a
continuation, under another name, of Adonis worship.
claim_level: historical_contact
target: Adonis worship and Sicilian Easter sepulchre custom
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The claim is explicitly marked as probable, not certain, and reflects
Frazer’s comparative interpretation rather than proof provided in this passage.
- id: claim:2
claim: The passage compares Attis and Adonis as closely similar vegetation gods
whose deaths and resurrections were marked in spring, noting that ancient writers
sometimes identified them.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Attis and Adonis
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The passage gives a broad comparison but does not quote the ancient
identifications or detail all supporting sources.
- id: claim:3
claim: The passage compares floral growth from Attis’s blood with floral growth
from Adonis’s blood.
claim_level: same_function
target: Violets from Attis’s blood and anemones from Adonis’s blood
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The comparison is limited to a specific image of flowers springing
from divine blood.
- id: claim:4
claim: The passage compares one account of Attis’s death by boar with Adonis’s death
by boar.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Boar-killed Attis and boar-killed Adonis
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The passage also records an alternate Attis death account by self-mutilation,
so the boar motif is not the only Attis tradition presented.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 6467-6475
quote_or_summary: At Easter, Sicilian women sow wheat, lentils, and canary-seed
in plates kept dark and watered; the shoots are tied with red ribbons and placed
on Good Friday sepulchres with effigies of the dead Christ.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 6475-6479
quote_or_summary: The passage compares these plates to gardens of Adonis placed
on the grave of the dead Adonis and says the whole custom is probably a continuation
of Adonis worship under another name.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 6481-6487
quote_or_summary: "“Like Adonis, he appears to have been a god of vegetation, and
his death and resurrection were annually mourned and rejoiced over at a festival
in spring.” The passage adds that their legends and rites were so similar that
ancients sometimes identified them."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation from provided passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 6487-6497
quote_or_summary: Attis is called a fair youth beloved by Cybele. One account says
he was killed by a boar like Adonis; another says he mutilated himself under a
pine-tree and died from loss of blood, a local Pessinus story.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 6497-6502
quote_or_summary: The passage says the people of Pessinus abstained from swine and
that after death Attis was changed into a pine-tree.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 6502-6510
quote_or_summary: At the spring equinox a pine-tree was cut, brought into Cybele’s
sanctuary, treated as divine, adorned with woollen bands and violets, and fitted
with a young man’s effigy; violets were said to spring from Attis’s blood as anemones
from Adonis’s blood.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 6510-6515
quote_or_summary: After a second-day trumpet ceremony, the third day was the Day
of Blood, when the high priest drew blood from his arms and offered it; mourning
for Attis may have occurred over an effigy later buried.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 6515-6517
quote_or_summary: The fourth day was the Festival of Joy, at which Attis’s resurrection
was probably celebrated, following closely after the celebration of his death.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 6517-6519
quote_or_summary: The Roman festival closed with procession to the brook Almo, where
Cybele’s cart, image, and sacred objects were bathed; on return, the cart and
oxen were strewn with fresh spring flowers.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/comparative/project-gutenberg/golden-bough-volume-1-frazer.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage itself is comparative scholarship and states several comparisons
explicitly. Motif labels are constrained to evidence in the passage, but some
ritual meanings are presented by Frazer as probable rather than certain.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
Only the provided passage and metadata were used. Taxonomy references are limited to supplied available taxonomy entries.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:comparative-golden-bough-volume-1-frazer-gutenberg__l6465-l6519
passage_sha256=f5a2fd6dca8454b90fcb35117c89460b94a56281d931403a94bb8a561417b574